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WASHINGTON — President Trump and Vice President JD Vance will announce a new $25 million fraud whistleblower fund later Tuesday that will offer tipsters up to $30,000 apiece for information leading to federal convictions.
The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP) is Vance’s latest initiative as Trump’s fraud czar, the head of a task force that has focused heavily on theft of federal benefits.
During Tuesday’s Oval Office announcement, Trump will give 24-year-old investigative vlogger Nick Shirley a $10,000 check for his role highlighting fraud among Somali-American-run childcare centers in Minnesota late last year.
Tips must be submitted on fraud.gov and lead to a guilty verdict or plea for the informant to be eligible for the Justice Department bounty.
“Every day, President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars and giving Americans the accountability they deserve,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.
“This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans.”
Fox News first reported on the rewards program, which is similar to a longstanding IRS initiative that offers between 15% and 30% of recouped funds to incentivize reporting of tax fraud.
Vance has taken a number of high-profile actions as head of the task force, announcing last month that 750,000 enrollees would be booted from Obamacare for suspected fraudulent enrollment, with another 450,000 put under review.
Vance previously withheld reimbursements for the low-income Medicaid program from states for certain programs deemed at high risk of fraud, imposed a moratorium on durable medical equipment providers for the old-age Medicare program and suspended 447 purported hospice providers in California.
The administration-wide push in August included the closure of 270 commercial driver’s licensing (CDL) schools for allegedly graduating illegal immigrant truck drivers who can’t speak English and offering subpar training facilities.